1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to poultry processing equipment and especially to apparatus for automatically separating the shoulder-wing joints and for severing connective shoulder muscle and tendons of a poultry carcass being processed and for forming elongated incisions on opposite sides of the back part of the breast meat on the bird rib cage to facilitate subsequent removal of the wings and breast meat from the carcass.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Processing of poultry has become increasingly automated as the need to enhance productivity and reduce processing costs has escalated. One effective means to reduce expenses is to replace personnel performing manual operations with automatic machinery.
However, machines have not been capable of carrying out certain processing steps because of the inability of the equipment to accommodate poultry carcasses which somewhat vary in size from bird to bird, and the specialized nature of particular pre-cut operations that must be performed. Exemplary in this respect is the need to prepare the carcasses for efficient machine removal of the wings and breast meat from the carcass rib cage.
Equipment is available and has been in use for some years which functions to grasp the wings and the breast portions of the carcass and to then sever the wings and/or pull the breast meat from the bird's rib cage. Machines of this type are generally known as deboners. Wing removal has been performed primarily by causing partially severed wings to be trapped in wing receiving slots that are at an angle with respect to the path of travel of the carcass along a predetermined conveyor path. As the birds are moved along the path, the wings are deflected into the inclined slots and are ultimately severed from the carcass. In like manner, equipment has been provided which has components for grasping the breast meat and to then pull such meat from the carcass rib cage.
In order for the wing and breast removal equipment to operate most satisfactorily, it has been the practice to station personnel on each side of the conveyor path who have the responsibility of wielding hand knives to cut through the connective muscle and tendons of the shoulder-wing joints of the carcasses, to then carry the blade of the knife down across the back portion of the breast meat to form long incisions which follow along respective shoulder joint supporting bones extending from the bird's rib cage, and to form transverse short cuts adjacent the shoulder joints of the carcasses to facilitate subsequent grasping of the meat by the breast removal equipment.
It is therefore an important object of this invention to provide apparatus which will automatically perform the shoulder-wing separation and severing cuts, short transverse shoulder cuts and long back cut incisions in the rib cage breast meat of a poultry carcass that have heretofore been accomplished only on a manual basis.